


A (not so) Little Change

by Nanenna



Series: A Little Series [5]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Afterdeath (Undertale Ship), Aftertale Sans (Undertale) - Freeform, Aftertale Sans/Reapertale Sans (Undertale), Alternate Universe - Aftertale (Undertale), Alternate Universe - Reapertale (Undertale), Alternate Universe - Twins, Established Relationship, Fluff and Humor, Future EverAfterDeath (Undertale Ship), Life (Reapertale Soriel), M/M, Multi, Permanent Injury, Reapertale Papyrus (Undertale), Reapertale Sans (Undertale), Reapertale Toriel (Undertale)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-02
Updated: 2020-03-02
Packaged: 2021-02-28 07:27:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,795
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22979851
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nanenna/pseuds/Nanenna
Summary: Life and Death have been friends for a very long time. Reaper thinks it's about time for Life and Geno to finally meet. And what the hell, why not have Cider meet her too?
Relationships: Sans/Sans (Undertale)
Series: A Little Series [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1610887
Comments: 26
Kudos: 78





	1. Meet Your Maker

Reaper clenched his hands so tightly if he had flesh he was sure he’d be bleeding. “you’re sure you’re ready?”

“Yes, my friend. I assure you I am well prepared for this. Your friends are in good hands,” Life replied as she smiled gently down on Reaper. “You know there is no place in all of creation safer and more suited to our purpose than my garden.”

Reaper drew in a deep breath, then let it out slowly. “yeah, i know. you’re right. heh, you’re always right.” Reaper grinned nervously up at his oldest friend, “alright, i’m going now.”

“I will not move even an inch,” Life promised with another soft, reassuring smile.

Reaper nodded, then stepped into the Save Screen. Into their living room, specifically, where Geno and Cider both stood with their bodies pressed against each other, hands tangled together, skulls angled down to hide whatever they were discussing too quietly for Reaper to hear. “life’s ready.”

Both glitches looked up, but it was Cider that stepped forward. “alright, i’m ready.”

Reaper looked back and forth between them, “cider?” He would think Geno would want to go first, he was the one who’d been stuck here longer.

“we talked about it,” Cider started.

“and ended up flipping a coin,” Geno cut in.

A lie. Reaper could tell by the way Geno stared at him as if he could glare Reaper into believing it. Reaper furrowed his brow and was about to ask what Geno was lying about, but instead shook his head. Life was waiting, this was a delicate enough procedure without unnecessary delays. He reached for Cider, then pulled his hand back. Most gods were able to move quickly, flitting wherever they were needed faster than mortal eye could hope to ever follow, but it still required the god to be touching whatever or whoever they wanted to bring with them. If he were touching Cider when they left this place, he’d likely dust before Life even had a chance to lift a finger. “here, stand beside me.” Reaper wasn’t most gods, he had something else entirely at his disposal: shortcuts. Those didn’t require touch.

Cider moved into the spot Reaper had pointed at, “alright, i’m ready.”

Reaper nodded, then between one step and the next they were in Life’s garden. Cider barely had time to gasp before he was in Life’s arms, surrounded by the warm glow of healing magic.

Life was a powerful healer, Reaper reminded himself as a small eternity slowly ticked by. Probably the most powerful healer ever, he added on as time slowly dragged on and yet nothing seemed to change. Then Life’s intense grimace of concentration eased into a pleased smile and the gaping hole in Cider’s skull (no longer hidden by glitches) slowly grew smaller and smaller. Reaper breathed a sigh of relief as the hole closed up and the healing glow faded.

Life stood leaning over Cider, one hand at his back while the other was held open in front of him, both of Cider’s tiny hands clinging to her like a (heh) lifeline. Cider was breathing heavily and blinking wildly. Then he looked up and Reaper finally got his first look at Cider’s new face, the whole right side looked like wax that had melted and cooled again. The affect wasn’t helped by his eye, which had healed drooping half closed, the bottom rim even lower than his good eye, leaving it looking as if his whole eye had slid down his face.

“Rest now, my child.” Life picked up Cider as she spoke, then set him down on a fallen tree. “I am sure this is quite the change for you, but we have your other half to help next.” Life’s expression shifted to contemplative as she put a finger to her chin and tilted her head slightly, “Your other third?”

“heh, we’ve just been calling each other twins, it’s easier to deal with.”

“Very well then, we must do this once more for your twin. Sans,” Life turned to Reaper, “I am ready.”

“right.” Reaper stepped back into the Save Screen. Geno was right where he’d left him, looking so small and anxious. He perked up when he noticed Reaper had arrived, then drooped. “is he…”

“cider’s fine, it worked.”

“that’s… that’s good.” A tear welled up in Geno’s eye as he let out a shuddering breath, “that’s really good.”

Reaper pulled Geno into a hug, tucking the smaller’s face into the crook of his neck as he hugged him close. “it worked, he’s alive and well and soon you will be too. you’re going to be free, you’ll get to see the surface and the whole of the multiverse and never, ever have to come back here ever again.”

Geno sobbed and clung to Reaper all the tighter, Reaper started running a soothing hand up and down Geno’s spine while murmuring quiet nonsense into his acoustic canal. It seemed the tears were just a quick burst, a flurry of sobs that started to ebb shortly after beginning. Reaper was about to ask Geno if he was ready to go when his phone played a cheery little tune. That was Life’s ringtone. He quickly pulled his phone out of his inventory with one hand while he continued to pet Geno’s spine with the other.

The LIFE of the party

*Is everything alright, my friend? You are taking quite a while to return with Geno.

*yeah sall good  
*sorry  
*geno got a lil emotional

*Oh dear, is he well?

*yeah hes better now  
*well be thr shorty

*I will be waiting.

  
  


With that he dropped his phone back into his inventory and gave Geno an extra little squeeze. “that was life, you ready to go meet her?”

“yeah, sure,” Geno gave a watery laugh, “all set.”

Reaper took a quick shortcut into the kitchen and grabbed up the first tea towel in reach, he held it up to Geno’s face. Geno quickly wiped down his face and blew his nose. Then they were in the bedroom and Geno tossed the used towel towards the laundry basket.

“okay, all set for real this time.”

Reaper gently pushed Geno away from him. Once they weren’t touching anymore he turned to face the same direction as him. “alright, here we go.”

Geno nodded, then between one step and the next they were in Life’s garden. Reaper pulled up his hood and clung to it anxiously as he breathlessly watched Life work her magic. It seemed to take both far, far longer than it had with Cider and be over in an instant. The healing magic faded and Life was holding Geno up just as she had Cider as she smiled down at him. Geno turned to find Reaper and smiled wide. His right eye looked as if it were caught in an eternal, melted wink.

“reaper,” Geno called happily and reached towards him.

Reaper shortcut a couple paces back, well out of reach.

Geno had just enough time to look hurt before Cider was hugging Geno. “look at all this! i’ve never seen so much greenery all in one place in my whole life.”

“yeah,” Geno agreed. He looked around the garden again, then up at the endless blue sky with a herd of white, fluffy clouds drifting lazily overhead. “i’ve never seen that shade of blue before.”

Cider looked up, just as transfixed as Geno. “yeah, me neither.”

Life picked them both up in a hug, “Congratulations to the both of you!”

Faint, rosy blushes lit both the glitches’ cheek bones. No, not glitches anymore.

“thanks, life.”

“And now what will the two of you do?”

“oh uh…” Geno and Cider turned to look at each other, then both stared in shock. “whoa, is that what i look like now?” Both reached tentatively for each others’ faces.

“Not quite, you are no longer identical.” Life smiled down at them as the two inspected each others’ faces, then their own. “How do you feel? I hope neither of you is in any pain.”

“no! uh, no, not at all.”

“i feel better than i have in ages,” Geno said with a grin. “but i also feel like i could sleep for a year.”

“Ah, that is to be expected. Healing can be quite taxing on both the healer and the injured. The worse the injury, the more taxing the healing. You were both on the brink of Death,” Life threw a wink Reaper’s way, “it would be best if you rested for now. You are both quite welcome to rest here, I can make you a charming nest to sleep in.” Life turned and held up her arms as if she were about to conduct an invisible orchestra lurking under the foliage around the edge of her garden.

Cider and Geno looked around the garden (full of bird song, animals rustling through the underbrush, and trees whispering overhead with every stray breeze) and shook their heads. “no offense, but it’s really uh…”

“it’s kinda noisier than we’re used to.”

“That is quite alright, I understand even something I would consider peaceful can be overwhelming after what you two have become used to. It would be better not to go back to that timeless place, but if it is where you would be most comfortable then that is where you shall go.” She leaned down and pulled Geno and Cider into yet another hug. “Rest well, my new friends. And remember, you are welcome here any time.” She stood and grinned mischievously at them, “Reaper has precious little free time, and he would rather spend it in your company than mine. I demand you two come keep me company in his place.”

Reaper smiled sadly at Life’s teasing. He had a feeling that now they were alive again, now that the timers every mortal had were slowly ticking away again, that he wouldn’t be able to spend as much time with his darlings as he had before.

“Reaper, come here and help these two get back home.” Life beckoned Reaper closer. He obligingly drifted into reach, but was careful to keep a small buffer of distance between them.

“what? can’t get home on your own?”

“we’re not sure if we can shortcut between worlds,” Geno admitted.

“plus we got one last thing to test.”

“huh?” Reaper looked at Cider in confusion, giving Cider just enough time to latch onto Reaper and pull him closer. Reaper was so surprised that all he could do was yelp in shock. Cider leaned up and closed his eye as their teeth met in a hard kiss that echoed sharply through the garden. Reaper panicked and pushed Cider away, “cider! what are… you’re not dead.” He looked down at the mortal monster with his robed clenched tightly in his fist, Reaper’s hands on his shoulders in a vain attempt to put distance back between them. He wasn’t dust.

“huh, i’m really not. guess dt’s a hell of a drug.” Cider grabbed Reaper and pulled him back into another, slightly gentler kiss.

Geno latched onto Reaper as well, jostling Cider until they were both held in Reaper’s arms. Geno insisted on getting a kiss of his own, then Cider pulled him back into another kiss. By the time the pair had had enough of trading him off for kisses, Reaper was panting like he’d just run a marathon. He stared down at the both of them in wonder, then his gaze shifted over to blink slowly at Cider. Cider blushed and hid his face in a hand, then peeked back up at Reaper shyly.

“cider, are you… does this mean… are you really okay with this?”

Cider nodded, “if you are. i mean, i know you’ve been pretty obvious about wanting me too, but if that was all just a joke we don’t have to…” Cider trailed off nervously.

Reaper whooped and picked the twins up to spin them around. He held both his darling little datefriends close and peppered their adorable melted skulls with kisses. “i’m more than okay with this!♥” Perhaps it was greedy of him to accept, to keep them both after they finally had the whole multiverse opened to them, but Reaper wasn’t about to let either of his datefriends go now that he had them. He held them tighter again and nuzzled their skulls. Cider and Geno both pulled him down into a kiss, magic sparked where the three’s teeth met, an intoxicating mix of red and blue that he was sure he’d never get tired of.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have been DYING to get to this chapter! I'm just! So excited! To finally! Finally!! Have things moving along. Poly start!!!♥♥♥


	2. Best Day Ever

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The excitement continues as the new trio get to share their happy news.

There was a cough behind them. Reaper turned, Cider and Geno still in his arms, to see Life watching them with an amused smile spread blatantly across her face. Reaper grinned right back at her, “life! look, i got my matched set!♥”

The twins both grumbled complaints at being called that, but Reaper was too happy to care. Plus it didn’t escape his notice that neither one let go or tried to get out of his hold.

“I can see that, my friend.” She walked closer as she spoke, then pulled the trio into her arms for the biggest hug Reaper had ever been part of. “Congratulations!”

“wait, don’t!” Geno and Cider both looked panicked, then looked up at Life with wonder, “you didn’t dust.”

“Of course not, my children. Did you really believe two mortal beings would be able to withstand the touch of Death but another god would not?”

“when you put it that way,” Geno grumbled as he looked down, abashed.

“I will admit Reaper’s touch is uncomfortable due to the nature of our powers. But gods are not part of the cycle of Life and Death, it will take more than his mere touch to kill even the most minor of gods.”

“that’s a relief.”

“tor,” Reaper said, looking between his two datefriends (two! He had not just one but two adorable datefriends) and his oldest friend, “how? i mean,” he squinted at the timers attached to the twins’ souls, “they’re still mortal, i think. what did you do?”

“Perhaps it is the garden, you have no power here.”

All three skeletons looked down at Reaper’s feet, where a ring of brown, wilted grass was slowly growing outward.

Life gave a light cough, “Well, that grass is not **dead** is it? How do the two of you feel?”

They both shrugged. “the same, i guess. still tired,” Cider added before a great yawn cracked his jaw. It spread to Geno next.

“It has been a tiring day,” Life agreed with another amused smile. Reaper swore it was more of a smirk, really. “You two should rest. But as I said, it would be better if you did not return to the Save Screen for now.”

“where else would i take them? all our stuff’s there.”

“Sans Reaper Death the elder,” Life said exasperatedly, “do you not have a house with your brother in the godly realm?”

“it’s more his house than mine at this point, i moved into the save screen with geno ages ago.”

“And did you not inform him of what you had planned for today?”

“of course i told him.”

“You really believe Respite would not have prepared your shared home for the three of you?”

“oh.”

“And at the very least it is worth a visit to let him know how things went, is it not?”

“yeah, you’re right.”

“As I often am,” Life said with what was definitely a smirk. “Now get going you three. Have a safe journey, and do come back to visit.” Life gave them all one last hug, then stepped back.

Cider and Geno looked at each other, a flurry of expressions flashed across their faces faster than Reaper could interpret them. It had only been such a short time since Cider crashed into their lives, but it seemed like the first thing he and Geno had done was figure out a way to communicate silently. Then the pair squirmed out of Reaper’s arms and stood to either side, hands shoved in hoodie pockets.

“thanks, life.”

“we’ll be sure to visit.”

Life smiled gently and waved.

They stepped into Respite’s living room. Reaper supposed technically it was still his home too, some things had just never made it into the Save Screen. But he hadn’t _lived_ there in quite some time.

Cider’s hand found its way into Reaper’s. He looked down at his new datefriend with a wide smile, then noticed that the bright red mana usually leaking from Cider’s grin had dried. Geno’s hand found Reaper’s next, Reaper turned his smile on Geno, “let’s go find respite.”

“we’ve never been here before, dork, you gotta lead the way.”

“sure.♥ he’s probably upstairs.” Keeping their hands in his, Reaper led his datemates up the stairs, calling out for Respite as they went.

Respite popped out of the room Reaper recognized as his old room. “OH! IT WORKED!” Respite clapped his hands in excitement, then his gaze dropped down to where their hands were still clasped. His sockets grew huge, “GREAT GOOGLY MOOGLY! DOES THIS MEAN WHAT I THINK IT MEANS?”

Reaper held up both his datemates’ hands, “we’re a trio!♥”

Respite rushed over to pick the twins up and twirl them around. “OH THIS IS WONDERFUL!” He stopped and held them out so he could look down at them, “AND HOW DID IT GO WITH LIFE? NO WAIT, CLEARLY IT WENT WELL. YOU’RE NOT EVEN HIDING YOUR EYES ANYMORE! THOUGH I WOULD HAVE THOUGHT SHE’D DO MORE FOR YOUR SOULS, IT SEEMS A LITTLE IRRESPONSIBLE TO LEAVE THEM AS MERE FRAGMENTS. WELL, NO MATTER! YOU’RE HERE AND YOU’RE RELATIVELY HEALTHY. SO BROTHER, SINCE THEY AREN’T STUCK IN THAT DREARY PLACE LEST THEY DIE ANYMORE, YOU ARE OF COURSE MOVING BACK IN.”

“only if you’re okay with it. and them too, of course.”

“DON’T BE SILLY! I’M MORE THAN JUST “OKAY” WITH IT! REALLY, AS IF I WOULDN’T BE HAPPY TO HAVE MY ONLY BROTHER BACK HOME WITH ME,” Reaper grumbled with a frown. Then his attention shifted back to the twins still in his arms and his expression brightened, “BUT WHAT ABOUT THE TWO OF YOU? DO YOU WANT TO LIVE HERE?”

“sure, no place else i’d rather lay my head.”

“wouldn’t dream of living anywhere else.”

“WERE THOSE PUNS?”

The answer was a pair of wide, jaw cracking yawns. Cider’s good eye was drooping as much as his melted one.

“life said healing takes a lot out of mortals.”

“OH, I SUPPOSE THAT MAKES SENSE? MORTALS DO NEED AN AWFUL LOT OF SLEEP, IT SEEMS.” He squinted down at them, “BUT I THINK YOU BOTH NEED A QUICK WASH UP BEFORE BEING PUT TO BED.” And just like that Respite was marching towards the bathroom, one of Reaper’s datemates under each arm. “BROTHER, GET THE BED READY WHILE I CLEAN THEM UP.”

“sure thing, bro.” Reaper gave them a wave, then stepped into his old room. It was pretty empty, all the junk he’d left behind save for one trunk and his old bed had been cleaned out. He frowned at the bed in the corner, it was old fashioned and dumpy even by his standards, nothing more than a worn old pallet. It certainly wasn’t big enough for two monsters nor was it worthy of his precious datemates. He quickly kicked the ratty old thing through a shortcut to some random place. Then with a shortcut and liberal use of gravity magic he brought his and Geno’s bed from the Save Screen into the room.

Well that was a disaster! The thing took up about half the room, maybe more. It definitely didn’t belong shoved into the corner like that. They’d have to do something about the bed to bedroom ratio later, for now he could at least try to get the thing into a decent position.

“BROTHER! COME HERE A MINUTE, PLEASE!”

Reaper stood outside the bathroom door, “yeah bro?”

The door swung wildly open, just past Respite he could see Geno and Cider sitting on the edge of their claw foot tub, down to just their shirts and shorts. “THESE CLOTHES WON’T DO! THEY’RE STICKY WITH MANA!” Respite motioned angrily to the matched slashes across their shirts.

“oh, right. i’ll be right back.” Reaper popped into his Save Screen bedroom and made a beeline for the pair of dressers. Geno’s was… pretty empty. All it really had were some lingerie, toys, and his sock collection. All of which were stained with still fresh, bright red mana. Right, since this was a timeless place and Geno never really stopped bleeding he never really bothered with changing his clothes or even washing what he had. Cider was likely the same. Come to think of it, even though Reaper had bought him his own dresser and a wardrobe he couldn’t remember ever actually buying Cider anything to put in them. Well crap, he was a terrible datemate. That would have to be fixed… soon. Right now he had more pressing matters.

Reaper moved to his own dresser and started rifling through it. Again, it was mostly lingerie and toys, he didn’t even have a sock collection like most Sanses. All he found was one old, worn soft, faded from black to dark gray, over sized T-shirt and an old pair of sweatpants. Well that made sense, he kept his clothes in the wardrobe. The wardrobe that seemed to only be full of black ragged robe after black ragged robe with only the occasional pair of matching black ragged pants for variety. He got all the way to the back where he found a knit sweater with “Death the halls” written across it with cheery holiday decorations around the whole thing. Well it would have to do. He took the meager pile of clothes to the bathroom and knocked on the door.

“THERE YOU ARE!” Respite took the clothes and plopped them on the counter next to the sink. “ALRIGHT, ONCE YOU TO HAVE FINISHED WASHING UP AND CHANGING WE’LL GET YOU RIGHT INTO BED. GO AHEAD AND JUST LEAVE THE OLD ONES HERE, I’LL TAKE CARE OF THEM.” Without waiting for a response Respite stepped out of the bathroom and closed the door. Then he hustled reaper into his (their?) bedroom. “OUR DEATHLY TOUCH DOESN’T AFFECT THEM!”

“yeah, no idea what life did to make that happen, but i’m not complaining.♥”

“I SHALL HAVE TO SEND HER A THANK YOU CARD, POSSIBLY A GIFT OF SOME KIND. WHAT DO YOU SEND TO A GODDESS THAT LITERALLY LIVES IN A GARDEN? SURELY A FRUIT BASKET OR A BOUQUET WOULD BE COMPLETELY REDUNDANT. YOU KNOW HER BETTER THAN I, DOES SHE ENJOY CHEESE? PERHAPS WITH SOME CURED MEATS?”

Reaper shrugged, “just so long as there’s no tea. maybe a wine bottle? isn’t cheese supposed to go with wine? i know she’s classy enough for that sort of thing.

Respite’s eye sockets glittered as he practically beamed his joy at Reaper, “FOR ONCE YOU ACTUALLY HAVE SOMETHING HELPFUL TO SAY! I’M SO GLAD TO SEE HAVING A SECOND DATEMATE HAS ALREADY IMPROVED YOUR LAZY WAYS EVEN MORE.” He turned and motioned at the bed, still awkwardly stuffed in the room’s corner, “WHY JUST LOOK AT THIS! I EXPECTED YOU TO JUST THROW BLANKETS AND PILLOWS AT THAT MUSTY OLD STRAW TICK YOU CALLED A BED, BUT INSTEAD YOU REPLACED IT WITH A REAL BED.”

“it’s just our bed from the save screen. i didn’t even do any work to get it here, just used a shortcut.”

“AND THAT IS STILL MORE EFFORT THAN I EXPECTED, WELL DONE.” Respite clapped Reaper on the back hard enough he nearly fell flat on his face. “THOUGH IT DOES SEEM RATHER… LARGE. FOR THIS ROOM.”

“yeah, it might be time to make some changes. but that’ll have to wait until later, for now i just want to figure out a place to leave the bed that’ll work for tonight.”

“THAT’S EASY ENOUGH, IF WE MOVE THAT OLD CHEST YOU LEFT BEHIND TO THAT CORNER THERE, WE CAN PUT THE BED AGAINST THAT WALL AND HAVE JUST ENOUGH ROOM TO ACTUALLY MANEUVER AROUND THE ROOM. THOUGH I DON’T SEE WHY WE CAN’T JUST LEAVE IT AS IS, ALL THREE OF YOU CAN SHORTCUT.”

“heh, that’s true. but we’re gonna need to bring all our furniture and stuff from the save screen in at some point.”

“AS YOU SAID, THIS IS ONLY FOR THE SHORT TERM. I’M SURE ONCE I SET MY MIND TO IT I WILL FIND A SOLUTION. NO, THE BEST SOLUTION!”

“uh… reaper? respite?”

“OH! THAT SOUNDS LIKE THEY’RE FINISHED. GO FETCH YOUR TWO DATEMATES AND I’LL GET THINGS SETTLED HERE.”

“sure thing, bro.” Reaper shortcut to just outside the bathroom, Geno and Cider were both standing in the doorway, leaning heavily on it as they looked down the hallway. They looked adorable, like a pair of sleepy kittens refusing to lay down for a nap. The fact they were both swimming in their borrowed clothes didn’t help matters.

It was like the fact they were wearing **his** clothes hit Reaper upside the head and left him reeling. He just stood and stared at them, Geno in the Gyftmas sweater and sweatpants (which had to be rolled up to keep him from tripping over them, so cute!), and Cider drowning in the T-shirt so badly it was slipping from one shoulder, though the scarf hid most of said shoulder from sight, the bottom hem of the T-shirt went all the way down to his knees.

The two stumbling as they tried to walk towards him snapped Reaper out of his daze. He quickly caught them both, the last thing they needed was another trip to Life’s garden for another healing round after they just left. They latched onto his arms, Reaper couldn’t stop the indulgent smile he knew was all over his face. “alright you two, bed’s right this way.”

By leaning on Reaper and going slow, the twins managed to make it safely into the bedroom. Respite had managed to not only get the bed into place but also get it neatly made in the short time Reaper had been gone. He was just turning down the blankets when they walked in. “YOU TWO LOOK SO MUCH BETTER, LESS LIKE YOU’D JUST BEEN ON THE BRINK OF… WELL… US.” He motioned to the bed, though with the way it took up half the room he needn’t have bothered. “THE BED’S ALL READY, JUST CLIMB IN AND WE’LL LET YOU REST.”

The bed frame had been specially ordered, it was short enough for any Sans (save maybe a bitty) to get in and out of easily, yet half asleep as they already were Reaper wasn’t sure the twins could handle even that on their own. “how about i just…” Reaper shortcut the three of them onto the bed.

“yeah, that works,” Cider slurred as he collapsed into bed, still clinging to Reaper. Geno did the same.

“uh… guys?” Reaper asked as he was bodily pulled down onto the bed with his datemates. Rather than respond, the twins just grunted and squirmed until they were both comfortably cuddled up on either side of Reaper, arms thrown over his ribs. They let him flip over so he was face up at least, but when he tried to squirm from their grasps both growled. “i uh… i’m trapped?”

“WELL YOU THREE HAVE A GOOD NAP,” Respite said with a particularly smug smile as he tucked the three of them in. “FOR JUST TODAY BROTHER, I’M GIVING YOU PERMISSION TO BE LAZY. I’LL TAKE CARE OF EVERYTHING ELSE, YOU JUST TAKE CARE OF YOUR DATEMATES. WINK!”

“thanks, bro, you’re the best.”

“OF COURSE I AM, NYEH HEH HEH!” With that Respite shut the door and was gone.

Reaper settled in, happy to hold his datemates (both of them! stars, he was so lucky) close while they got some much deserved rest. He just watched their ribs rise and fall for a while, taking the time to really look at their newly healed faces. How peaceful they looked without the gaping holes in their skulls, how serene their faces with a dribble of sleep drool rather than stark red mana. He hoped the lack of blood meant they weren’t in pain anymore. He hoped the timers that strangely didn’t seem to be counting down meant they had long lives ahead of them. Still, for now they were here, alive and safe and warm in his arms. He dropped a kiss on top of each skull and whispered, “best day ever,♥” to them.

Perhaps Respite had a point about that gift basket, he should get Life one too.


End file.
